Racism
Racism has no place in the life of a Christian
It is important to understand that genetically, all
humans are of but one race. Indians, Arabs, Jews, Caucasians, Africans, and
Asians, are not different races, but rather, different ethnicities of the human
race. God created all humans with the same physical characteristics, with only
minor variations. Furthermore, He created all humans in His image and likeness
(Genesis 1:26-27), and has invited all of us to enter into communion with Him.
A black man is just as much my brother as a fellow Norwegian with blue eyes
like mine.
In the Book of Acts we read that with the coming of
the Holy Spirit, diverse expressions of languages were being spoken. And in
Revelation we see a glimpse of eternity with men and women from every tongue,
tribe, and nation making up the choir of eternal praise (Rev. 7:9). That the
writers of Scripture took notice of ethnicity, and saw diversity as good, makes
it impossible for the Christian to hold to thoughts of racial superiority, or
separation of the races.
How can we hold to racist ideologies when even the
Apostle John hinted at prejudice concerning Jesus, "Can anything good come
out of Nazareth (John 1:46)?" How can we dare hold to racist opinions when
the Lord Jesus Christ presented parables which even offended the religious
leaders of His time? The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) and the story
of the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4) make it impossible for us to hold
to ideas of ethnic superiority over different races. Even our Orthodox
iconography intentionally reflects the full range of skin hues when painting a
saint's face in order to stress the interconnectedness and blessedness of all
races of humanity.
All forms of racism, prejudice, and discrimination are
affronts to the work of Christ on the cross. Jesus Christ died that all men
might be saved, be they Jews, Africans, Spanish, Norwegians, Asians, or
whatever. In Christ we are united as One Body, and as humans we are all of one
race.
Ethnicity should mean nothing for the Christian, and our parishes should
demonstrate the truth of the ethnic diversity of the Kingdom of God. If we hold
to racist beliefs we only demonstrate how far we have distanced ourselves from
the teachings of Our Lord. Can a Christian be a racist? The answer is an
emphatic NO!
With
love in Christ,
Abbot
Tryphon
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου